Wusantian Mud Volcano Natural Reserve Introduction
There are 27 mud volcanoes in the world, and the Shen Shui Agricultural, Forestry, and Animal Husbandry Farm in the Shen Shui Village of the Yan Chao District is the place with the most developed mud volcano topography in Taiwan, covering an area of 3.88 hectares. To protect this unique landscape, the Council of Agriculture announced this area as the "Wusanting Mud Volcano Natural Reserve" in 1992. The formation of the mud volcanoes is due to the movement and rupture of the Qishan Fault beneath the earth's crust, allowing moisture to seep underground and mix with mudstone to form mud. High-pressure gas then erupts the mud to the surface along the cracks, creating mud volcanoes. This area has three cone-shaped mud volcanoes, with the tallest reaching 3.5 meters and a slope of about 50 degrees, making it a typical mud cone. It erupts every few seconds, with thick mud flowing down the cone's surface, forming tongue-shaped mudflows that can reach a diameter of 70 meters, and there are often intermittent eruptions of mud and gas, which can sometimes be ignited or burn spontaneously. For educational and academic purposes, individuals wishing to enter the natural reserve must first fill out an application form to observe the precious geomorphology, mud volcanoes, and natural ecology.
